Herb Cromarty
NOTE: This page is not free to edit. Characters are solely owned by ScottyBlue (dA name Ascotia-Bluefleck. Also, Spoilers below.) '''Jonathan Herbert "Herb" Cromarty '''was a successful shop owner in Stearnsville, NC. He owned a general store, mostly selling firearms and fishing equipment, which did very well and which he made a lot of money from. He was married to Bella Cromarty, whom he absolutely adored. She bore him two children, Luke and Susannah. Both children were, unfortunately, very spoiled, but Susannah was much more doted on than her brother, who became jealous. After Bella died, Herb doted on Susannah even more because she was the spitting image of her mother. However, Susannah was rebellious and out of control, and Luke became more and more bitter and jealous and Herb realized something must be done. When Susannah had a baby out of wedlock but then ran off and left the baby with her father, Herb had enough. He told Susannah he would stop bailing her from jail and giving her money unless she settled down to be a proper mother. Susannah ran away and disowned her father, changing her name. Herb, realizing he was no good at raising children, hired a nanny to raise the baby. He also tried to make up the hurt that had been done to his son. Some years later, Susannah wrote to her father, telling him she wasn't asking for help for herself and that she had no intention of communicating with him further after this letter, as she had chosen her path. However, a man who had been a criminal but was desperately trying to reform wanted a job. Herb agreed, warily, to meet with the man. He found Ross DeAndrea, a small, gentle, rather harmless person whose worst crime was petty theft to pawn things for rent, and who had recently gotten custody of his orphaned nephew Myron. Herb could see he was genuinely repentant and hired him as a secretary/assistant, much to Luke's chagrin. He allowed DeAndrea to live in Susannah's old quarters with his nephew. He was pleased with DeAndrea's work ethic through the years, and eventually offered him a full partnership, but DeAndrea declined. However, Herb told him not to respond too quickly, and think about what it would mean for his future. Some time later, Herb Cromarty noticed a change in Luke's mood and actions, and strongly suspected Luke was being blackmailed. He tried to get Luke to tell him what was going on but Luke assured him it was something he could handle. Herb continued to worry - he felt he failed with Susannah and wanted to help Luke if he was in trouble. One night, he followed Luke when the latter went out for a secret assignation. Unable to see over a tall ivy-covered fence, a desperate Herb climbed a large tree to see what was going on. He never reached the branch he was aiming for, as a dead branch snapped and he plummeted to his death. Category:In Memory of Frankie Hill Characters